SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 19, 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 SEOUL 000982 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR ECON KPAO KS US SUBJECT: SEOUL - PRESS BULLETIN; June 19, 2009 TOP HEADLINES -------------- Chosun Ilbo, All TVs "(Public's Power) has Cut Political Lifeline of 100-day Old Administration... Anger over Lee Myung-bak is at Its Peak" Prosecutors Disclose Emails Written by MBC "PD Diary" Scriptwriter JoongAng Ilbo Samsung Electronics' Price-Earnings Ratio (PER) Outstrips Nokia's PER for First Time in Eight Years Dong-a Ilbo MBC's "PD Diary" Production Staffers Indicted for Controversial Mad Cow Disease Episode; Prosecution Raises Possibility of "Political Intention" behind Their Reporting Hankook Ilbo, Segye Ilbo, Seoul Shinmun Prosecutors Accuse "PD Diary" of 30 Cases of Distortion in Reporting on Mad Cow Disease... Controversy Erupts over "Freedom of Expression" Hankyoreh Shinmun MBC Staffers Indicted over Mad Cow Report... "Tenacious Crackdown on Critical Media" DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS -------------- President Lee Myung-bak, in a June 17 meeting in Washington with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and other experts, said that the cooperation of China and Russia is crucial in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. (Chosun, Hankook, Hankyoreh, Segye, Seoul) The two Koreas are to meet today for a third round of government-level talks on the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North. (All) Since Seoul is apparently considering closing the joint industrial complex if Pyongyang continues its exorbitant demands for higher wages for North Korean employees and more money for the lease, today's meeting is likely to become a watershed in deciding the fate of the complex. (Chosun) INTERNATIONAL NEWS -------------- According to the June 18 issue of The Washington Post citing a senior North Korean defector, North Korea has collected hundreds of millions of dollars from some of the world's largest insurance companies on large and suspicious claims for transportation accidents, factory fires, and other alleged disasters. (Chosun, JoongAng, Segye, Seoul) MEDIA ANALYSIS -------------- -North Korea -------------- Most ROK media quoted President Lee Myung-bak as saying in a June 17 meeting in Washington with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and other experts: "The cooperation of China and Russia is crucial in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions." Conservative Chosun Ilbo gave front-page play to a June 18 report by a sister paper of the Chinese Communist Party's official People's Daily that the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is rapidly SEOUL 00000982 002 OF 006 deteriorating, prompting the hasty decision to name his third son, Kim Jong-un, as heir apparent. Chosun, in a related development, quoted a North Korean source in Beijing: "Beijing-based North Korean officials from Ponghwa Hospital, where Kim's illness is being treated, are looking to import expensive medical equipment, which has been banned since the North conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. Pyongyang is also seeking to import an emergency helicopter from overseas. Kim seems to be in serious condition." Most media also gave attention to a June 18 report by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun citing an analysis by the Japanese Defense Ministry that North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile from its Dongchang-ri site, on the northwestern coast, toward Hawaii between July 4 and 8. -Iran -------------- Conservative Chosun Ilbo led its international news section with a report on six straight days of street protests in Iran over the disputed presidential election result. Chosun wrote in the headline: "Will an Iranian Version of the Tiananmen Incident Occur?... This Weekend Likely to Be a Watershed (in the Iranian Situation)" Right-of-center JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, in a report titled "Will Second Revolution Occur in Iran?," noted that young reform-minded forces are leading the protests in defiance of the ruling circles' 30-year-long iron-fisted rule over the nation. U.S. Financial Regulations Moderate Hankook Ilbo commented in an editorial: "The Obama plan is a step in the right direction because it focused on overhauling a 'culture of irresponsibility on Wall Street.' ... In order not to repeat the mistake of 'locking the stable door after the horse has bolted,' enhanced financial regulations are indispensable." OPINIONS/EDITORIALS -------------- MBC STAFFERS INDICTED OVER MAD COW REPORT (Hankook Ilbo, June 19, 2009, Page 35) Prosecutors indicted five staff members of the MBC program "PD Diary" on charges of defamation (of the former agriculture minister) and disruption (of U.S. beef sellers' business). Prosecutors concluded that the program intentionally distorted and exaggerated the danger of U.S. beef through mistranslations, translation omissions, the distortion or omission of objective facts, far-fetched conclusions, and scene editing. It is evident that PD Diary did not give a "fact-based" report on the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) risks of U.S. beef. The program neglected its duty as a public broadcaster while embellishing the report to suit the purpose of the program, rather than delivering the facts as they are. As a good example, despite experts' divergent views, the program reported that all downer cows are infected with BSE and that Aretha Vinson died of variant Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease (vCJD). Considering that the Seoul High Court also ruled that PD Diary should correct four additional statements of the report and air statements (which illustrate the divergence of opinion among experts),we can only conclude that the PD Diary's report was lacking in the objectivity, fairness and sense of balance which any media report is supposed to have. The producers claim that there were some mistakes in translation. Based on the investigation results, their claims mean that the PD Diary program directors made mistakes in as many as 30 scenes. It is doubtful whether they could make such numerous errors in one program. However, (despite the numerous mistakes) the prosecutor's (charge) SEOUL 00000982 003 OF 006 that the staffers defamed the former agriculture minister is not convincing, even though the report was not factual. The program did not intend to defame former Agriculture Minister, Chung Woon-chun. Moreover, it is not easy to directly relate the PD Diary episode to damages done to importers of U.S. beef. We should bear in mind that when a critical report about the government sparks social controversy, freedom of the media can suffer if the government tries to settle the issue only with the rule of law. We will wait for the decision of the court and watch closely to see (whether) MBC will air corrections. MBC CAN LEARN FROM MISTAKES (JoongAng Ilbo, June 19, 2009, page 42) Prosecutors yesterday indicted - without physical detention - five staff members associated with the MBC program "PD Diary" on charges of defamation related to an episode of the show that aired in April of last year on the safety of U.S. beef. Prosecutors claim the broadcaster intentionally distorted or embellished 30 key scenes and defamed a former cabinet minister and other plaintiffs. On Wednesday, following a complaint from the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Seoul High Court ordered MBC to air corrections related to the episode. The court also ruled that the program's claim that the ROK government would be helpless to stop the spread of the human form of mad cow disease here if it broke out in the U.S. was "false information." In a previous ruling, the court said that MBC didn't need to run corrections on that particular bit of reporting. It's fortunate that the truth is emerging about PD Diary's reporting on mad cow disease, which has been the subject of numerous investigations and court rulings. But judging from the relatively low level of punishment meted out so far, we also feel the limits of the current law. After the program in question aired 14 months ago, the nation sunk into a deep morass. It showed that a democratic system can be shaken at its roots when a terrestrial broadcaster abuses its power for its own interests. Prosecutors have just begun to uncover the entire truth about these reports. The original tape of the program, which is needed to determine what really happened and why, has not been made available because of MBC's opposition. The prosecution shouldn't think that placing criminal liability on a few people is enough. They have to do their utmost to reveal the truth, and honor the public's right to know what happened during trials. MBC must now accept the court's judgments, apologize to the people and lead efforts to uncover the truth. Top executives at the British broadcaster, BBC, resigned when the network's 2003 reporting on the war in Iraq turned out to be false. It wasn't because they were afraid of lawsuits but because they felt a heavy responsibility as employees of a public broadcaster. MBC also should assume responsibility for its own incorrect reporting and strive for fair and balanced journalism in the future. We expect MBC to take this opportunity to transform itself into a true public broadcaster. For we, along with the public, will keep a close eye on the network's future endeavors. SEOUL 00000982 004 OF 006 (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) CUTTING THE ADMINISTRATION'S LIFELINE? (Dong-a Ilbo, June 19, 2009, page 31) "Ms. Kim, how do you feel seeing this for yourself? Do you see what you've done? Are you satisfied now? Ha, ha," said the producer of the MBC investigative news show, "PD Notebook," Kim Bo-seul to the show's writer Kim Eun-hee. "I feel uneasy as the power of the public - the power which cut the political lifeline of the 100-day old administration, the power which cracked the indomitable castle of the Dong-A (Ilbo),Chosun (Ilbo),and JoongAng Ilbo, and the power which achieved things that no media or group did before - seems to be disappearing," Kim (Eun-hee) wrote this in an e-mail message sent to her acquaintance. PD Notebook is a program that disrupted Korean society last year by exaggerating and distorting the risks of the human version of mad cow disease. The two messages were sent by both the producer and writer of the show in late June last year, when illegal violent protests erupted against U.S. beef imports. Prosecutors announced the results of their investigation into the factual distortion case involving the MBC show. One of Kim's e-mail messages that was disclosed said, "I worked fanatically right after the presidential election, when I hated Lee Myung-bak the most." This shows that the show's episode on mad cow disease (was premised on) a political agenda to upend the newly inaugurated Lee Administration. The probe concluded that the program distorted 30 facts and four producers and one writer were indicted without detention. Though prosecutors applied charges of defamation and interference in business, the national and social losses incurred by the program's lies are tremendous. Protests against U.S. beef imports instigated by PD Notebook continued for more than three months, leaving Seoul in chaos, tainting the country's image abroad, and negatively impacting the economy. The program's production staff escaped a subpoena by crying suppression of the media, and blocked the execution of a raid and arrest warrant. Uncovering the truth behind the scandal lies in the hands of the judiciary. The show's producers dared to distort and exaggerate facts for ideological and political purposes and must face justice. The producers claim that politically minded prosecutors suppressed freedom of speech, a democratic principle. In a lawsuit filed by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry demanding that the show air a follow-up program after issuing a correction, the Seoul High Court ruled that the program should air a revised program after adding two more facts to the previous ruling. The ruling showed that the program purposely distorted facts while violating the basic code of ethics. Despite the ruling, the program (production staff) remains belligerent and continues to (rally behind a claim of) freedom of speech. The MBC executive board is not free from blame since it failed to hold the producers accountable for almost a year after the program was aired. MBC's role in political scandals is nothing new. The station was involved in the smear campaign against Grand National Party candidate Lee Hoi-chang before the 2002 presidential election, the 2004 impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun, and the 2007 BBK scandal that sought to taint Lee Myung-bak's presidential candidacy. MBC's union took power when the left-wing government (of the late 1990s and early 2000s) took office, and the network's structural problems encouraged a biased and distorted PD Notebook. Serious discussion is necessary to correct the situation in which groups with biased ideology sway the media. SEOUL 00000982 005 OF 006 (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) VIOLENCE AGAINST FREE PRESS CLOAKED AS LAW (Hankyoreh Shinmun, June 19, 2009, page 23) Yesterday, prosecutors indicted five producers and writers from the MBC program "PD Notebook" for defamation and disruption of operations. The investigative report in question was broadcast April 29, 2008 and warned of the dangers of mad cow disease, urging the ROK government to carefully consider its decision regarding relaxing sanitary regulations on U.S. beef imports. The episode aired criticism of government policy and represented an expression of opinion falling under constitutionally protected freedoms of press and speech; however, prosecutors are pursuing charges of defamation against the show's producers. This is a clear case of media suppression with a total disregard for the Constitution. While all of society is of one voice in expressing concern about democracy's regression, it appears the administration is once again blatantly pushing it backwards. The public prosecutor's office is likely aware that it is a stretch to investigate and indict producers of the PD Notebook. It has been said the investigation team that first took on the case cleared the producers of any suspicions. The chief prosecutor in charge ultimately handed in his resignation over the matter after protesting the order to conduct the investigation. Still, the public prosecutor's office pressed the matter, and replaced the entire investigative team (with a team) that finally presented the exact opposite conclusion of the first team a few months later. It is clear that there is no other explanation for this outcome other than to say this is a politically motivated investigation meant to deal a blow to the popular spirit of the candlelight vigil demonstrations and to gain a measure of retribution. It is for this reason that prosecutors are being popularly criticized for being "investigators for hire." The prosecutors have presented exceedingly shoddy reasoning; especially, first and foremost, using the idea that an investigative report critical of government policy defames the public official responsible for setting the policy. Criticizing and checking the government is the essential role of the press and a core press freedom. If the press is to perform this function, it is assumed that it should criticize policy carried out by public officials. If, as the prosecutors are claiming, reporting on problems in the negotiations regarding U.S. beef imports are "obviously nothing short of a criticism of the Agricultural Minister, whose office presided over the negotiations," any critical reporting becomes impossible. Presenting this sort of fallacious logic is a form of violence. If this logic is applied, media critical of the administration are subject to investigation and prosecution at any time. It is plain as day that this will result in the curtailment of the press. The ROK's courts have been expressing the view that restrictions on press freedoms with regard to public officials and issues of public interest should be relaxed. They are also of the view that even a report for the public benefit that contains some degree of exaggeration or error is difficult to recognize as a violation of the law if the information is trustworthy enough for the reporters to believe in its truth. Yet prosecutors are taking a few errors in translation, editing issues, and misunderstandings about the issue as a reason to charge the producers PD Notebook as if they presented an entirely distorted report. Prosecutor's determination to find fault has given rise to suspicions that the motivation behind the investigation is unrelated to the proof available that supports the criminal charges being pressed against the producers In the Park Yeon-cha case, prosecutors disclosed personal information or excessive details about the charges to the press and SEOUL 00000982 006 OF 006 received heavy criticism about this. Instead of reflecting over these tactics, however, they went and engaged in the same kind of behavior for this case. However, in this situation, despite disclosure of personal e-mail contents and statements from one of the writers, which were referenced as "materials from which an intent to distort can be surmised," prosecutors have been utterly unable to shed light on how such private ideas and personal correspondences might have actually affected the production of the program. The Korean Central Intelligence Agency, the predecessor to the National Intelligence Service, sought to use the National Security Law to punish the democratization movement and employed similar methods. In addition, the prosecutors have been unable to show a direct causal relationship between the PD Notebook report and the damages claimed by importers of U.S. beef, which can be expected in a made-to-order contract investigation. It is questionable whether the public prosecutors' office can even talk about pride as a judicial organization following this kind of behavior. It is clear that this indictment against PD Notebook is aiming to issue a warning that all reports critical of the government will be shut off at the source. This is what a dictatorship looks like, and must be brought to an immediate stop. (This is a translation provided by the newspaper, and it is identical to the Korean version.) PD DIARY'S SCRIPTWRITER'S EMAILS DISCLOSED BY PROSECUTORS (Chosun Ilbo, June 19, 2009, Page 31) The e-mails of PD Diary's scriptwriter Kim Eun-hee, which were disclosed on June 18 by prosecutors, clearly revealed that there were political motives behind PD Diary's episode on the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) risk of U.S. beef, a report that created fear and panic among many Koreans and drove them into the streets (to protest) a year ago. The reason why the producers of PD Diary did not hesitate to make preposterous distortions was plainly revealed in scriptwriter Kim's e-mails. Although they publicly said that they sought to protect the people's right to know, and their health, the real purpose was to disturb and topple the government that they opposed. Nevertheless, the producers of PD Diary argued that the prosecutors' investigation is a "suppression of media freedom." After creating social chaos and serious division by fabricating and distorting facts, they are now saying something to the effect of, "Since we simply exercised the freedom of the media, it is wrong to make an issue of it." The freedom of the media, guaranteed by the Constitution, does not apply to malicious instigation, fabrication, and irresponsible behavior. It has been more than one year since the PD Diary episode in question was aired. However, to date MBC has not taken steps to examine the truth and hold anyone responsible. The broadcasting company only tried to cover up (the truth) after holding emergency meetings. MBC is an organization that has long been unable to rectify its own wrongdoings. STANTON